We simply cannot continue to spend as if deficits don't have consequences; as if waste doesn't matter; as if the hard-earned tax dollars of the American people can be treated like Monopoly money; as if we can ignore this challenge for another generation. We can't.Unfortunately, the budget sent to Congress for the 2011 fiscal year does not support the President’s rhetoric.
President Obama claims to make tough cuts in his proposal while still addressing unemployment and funding for national defense, but his budget forecasts a record-breaking deficit of $1.6 trillion. This startling deficit is 10.6 percent of our country’s gross domestic product. Not good.
Included in the President’s budget are calls for a new jobs bill – with the price tag of $100 billion dollars. The President claims spending money will ease the 10 percent jobless rate. We can look to the $787 stimulus package, passed last February, to see money is not the solution we need.
As Americans watch their own wallets, they likewise want to see true fiscal responsibility from the President. Sadly, this administration will “continue to spend as if deficits don’t have consequences; as if waste doesn’t matter,” affecting generations to come.